100s wanted in bail scandal

MURDER and rape suspects are among hundreds of wanted people who have gone on the run from Greater Manchester courts after being given bail. Figures obtained by the M.E.N show 1,871 suspects are still at large after failing to turn up for hearings.

MURDER and rape suspects are among hundreds of wanted people who have gone on the run from Greater Manchester courts after being given bail.

Figures obtained by the M.E.N show 1,871 suspects are still at large after failing to turn up for hearings.

They include at least one alleged murderer and a number of alleged rapists - together with dozens of others accused of violent crimes and robbery. More than one in three of the bail-jumpers have been missing more than a year - with one man still evading justice after 19 years.

Now ex-Home Office minister Paul Goggins, the MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, is calling for suspects facing the most serious charges including violence to be refused bail in most circumstances. He said: "It's of concern where anybody has skipped bail. I think that where there is a very serious crime including violence, especially sexual violence, my expectation is that people will be remanded in custody."

The M.E.N's figures show that 212 of the 1,871 bail-jumpers at large at the end of June were wanted for category `A' crimes.

They include suspects accused of murder, rape, kidnap, arson, racist assaults, robbery, carjacking, drugs, guns and knife crime. Thirty-six per cent of the 1,871 have been missing for more than a year, and 11pc for more than five years.

Missing

Those missing for more than five years include men and women wanted for crimes including causing death by dangerous driving, having indecent photographs of children, making threats to kill, blackmail, false imprisonment and police assaults - as well as rape, drugs and firearm offences.

One alleged violent offender has been at large since 1990 after failing to turn up at court to face an assault charge.

All the fugitives were on bail when they failed to show up at court. Warrants were issued for their arrest, but police have been unable to track them down.

The most recent statistics - obtained by the M.E.N under the Freedom of Information Act - show that Greater Manchester Police have been aggressively tracking down bail-jumpers in the past year.

From January to June, 3,371 `fail to appear' warrants were issued, of which 2,848 - 84pc - were successfully executed.

And of the 1,277 warrants issued in the past 12 months for those facing the most serious crimes, 1,195 led to an arrest.

"Also, 837 of the 1,195 people were arrested within 14 days of the warrants being issued by the courts, which shows the robust manner in which we pursue people who are wanted in connection with serious offences.